The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 291

Proofreader: somnium

One troop of the Western Army was dispatched under Artizea’s order.

The Abba River basin was not an area that was hit directly by the Monster Wave. For that reason, there were no military troops normally stationed in the area.

It was not yet a place where administrative power was concentrated for the prevention of the plague.

Once she called in the army, Artizea wasn’t sure what to do with it either.

It will help with post-processing after the Abba River overflows.

But right now, it didn’t do much to defend the banks of the Abba River.

It was impossible to scour this wide plain to find dozens of bandits.

There were nine embankments of the Abba River. Each embankment was not small either.

Even if they searched all the embankments, the bandits would have already moved between each search.

It was also impossible to control the city of Kader.

The resident population alone was 90,000. Considering that it is a transportation hub, the number of floating population would be much higher than that.

In addition, the area in which the city of Kader is located has a low altitude.

If Embankment 9, built to prevent flooding in the rainy season, burst, not only the city of Kader, but the entire surrounding area would become a sea of water.

The Abba River basin was one of the largest granaries in the West. The damage to the granary was indescribably great.

But bigger than those two problems was the plague.

When large-scale floods occurred, water-borne diseases often followed.

If the epidemic caused by the parasitic monster was still circulating, it would be an unbearable situation if it turns into a new outbreak.

And if it was Lawrence, he would throw a few people infected with parasitic monsters into the water.

The parasitic monster survives longer in a humid place even without a host.

It was not as sporadic as it was now, but when several kinds of plagues started to circulate throughout the western part of the country, quarantine was impossible.

It was best to stop it before it happens. If it failed, they may have to make the extreme choice of abandoning other places to protect the unharmed area.

“There are nine main banks of the Abba River.”

Artizea marked the location on the map and looked at Venia.

Venia hesitated. Artizea asked,

“Did you say you came down the river? While running away, did you pass the embankment?”

“Yes. I think so.”

Venia answered confusedly. In fact, while she was fleeing, she thought only of a place to hide, and her memories were vague because it was so stressful.

She vaguely remembered the sound of water pouring down like a waterfall.

“How was his preparation for the trip? Did he have any spares on the horse?”

“Ah, yes. There were more than 20 horses. There were loads of things, but it was a light load.”

Venia could answer that with certainty.

She had been taken as Lysia’s maid. But there was a need for a labor force, and they couldn’t help but use her.

She was supposed to help feed the horses.

Artizea nodded her head.

Venia looked at Artizea with a strange face. It was full of incomprehensible things.

Lysia bestowed a blessing on her. Venia saw Lysia’s blessing heal the horse that had injured its leg and it stood up.

Venia had no doubts that she was the Saintess. Lawrence also called her the Saintess, and made the bandits call her that as well.

Now, she knew that the Saintess whom the temple made such a loud announcement of was Artizea, and that she was the Crown Princess.

But, Venia nevertheless believed that it was Lysia, who was the real Saintess.

Alice and Owen didn’t like her. But Artizea accepted her without a word and did not rebuke her.

Venia still didn’t know why Lysia and Artizea knew her name.

She didn’t even know why Lawrence had just grabbed her and dragged her away.

She didn’t know why a high-ranking person like the Crown Princess would have her by her side while doing something important.

Not only Venia, but it was full of strange things with the two of them.

They didn’t know what she was doing. They were following Artizea unconditionally, but they couldn’t even guess on what basis Artizea was moving and what she was going to do.

It was the same with Artizea calling Lysia with an honorific. Alice, who knew how much she loved Lysia, couldn’t even understand.

Artizea didn’t care about that at all.

“There are nine important banks on the Abba River. If he hits 7, 8, or 9, Kader will definitely be submerged.”

“How do you know?”

Had it been Hayley or Freil, they would never have questioned it this way. But Venia knew nothing, so she asked casually.

At that question, Artizea looked at Venia.

Her face turned pale.

“Madam…… ?”

Venia called her curiously.

Soon, Artizea’s expression sank to the bottom.

She turned her gaze back towards the map.

All she knows is that she’s calculated several times in the past to avoid damaging the city of Kader.

It was Embankment number 6 that she blew up then.

As the embankment collapsed, the overflowed water spilled into Embankment 7 and its vicinity. But the damage stopped there.

That meant, conversely, that in order to submerge the city of Kader, she would have to burst the Embankment 8 and 9 with certainty.

But she couldn’t say that to the other person.

“Sir Owen, go up from Embankment 9 and ask about the bandits.”

“Yes. If the burden was light, the supply would have been solved by looting.”

“Try it if you can.”

Hearing Artizea’s words, Owen made a military salute and went out to deliver orders.

Artizea looked at Venia. And with her weary lips, she let out a long sigh.

Still, she couldn’t think as an individual.

She wasn’t like that. She shouldn’t have had the heart to ask for forgiveness because she did her best in saving 9 out of 90,000 lives.

Instead of retrieving people one by one, she had to reduce the numbers.

But there was Venia before her eyes, and she couldn’t ignore it.

“Venia.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll give you to someone, so it’d be better if you go back to your hometown first. Go somewhere safe with your family.”

It wasn’t meant to be atonement. Because atonement couldn’t be done with just one person.

Rather, it was to repay her for her faithfulness to Lysia.

Venia said cautiously,

“Can I send you a letter?”

“Letter?”

“Yeah. Will Madam rescue the Saintess?”

Artizea nodded her head.

“And, will you save our village, too?”

“We will send the Western Army. The bandit threat will be eliminated.”

“Then, let me stay here. If you could let me know that they’ll be safe.”

said Venia. She was concerned about her family. But if she went back like this, she probably had no idea what would happen to her own identity.

She won’t even know if Lysia is safe or not.

Then, she thought it would be better to just stay. Just because she went back she wasn’t going to be enough to protect her family on her own.

Artizea nodded her head.

Venia was fiddling with the bullet in her pocket. That didn’t mean anything specifically to her.

Because it was the first thing Lysia hid. There were a couple of people in town with guns, but it was then that Venia touched a bullet for the first time.

The bullet was like a sign that she was living a life completely different; unlike what she had not long ago.

＊＊＊

Water poured down.

Lysia was standing in front of the embankment.

It was hot, but she was rather cold because of the strong wind. Her hair blew like crazy in the wind.

“Shall I tie it up for you?”

said Lawrence. In his hands was a ribbon embroidered with gold thread.

“Give it to me.”

“I think you chose to obey me for sparing Venia.”

“How can I believe that you really spared Venia?”

Lawrence laughed.

“You have changed. In the past, you would have believed me.”

“…….”

“You saved me at least once. I could have killed you right before my eyes as soon as I brought you.”

Lysia turned her head without answering.

“We made a deal. As long as you’re in my arms, I’ll pretend I didn’t see her.”

It was.

It was about two hours later after Venia had escaped.

Lysia made a deal with Lawrence. While she hugged and kissed Lawrence, the killing order was not issued.

But in the end, Lawrence would have ordered to capture Venia and kill her.

Lysia did not believe him. If she had been good enough to stop Lawrence, she would have already changed him.

As expected, the killing order was finally given.

She even gave Cedric’s pistol to her before letting her go. Lysia sincerely prayed that Venia escaped safely.

Lawrence smiled happily and pulled Lysia’s waist.

The soft kiss touched Lysia’s lips. Lysia turned her head.

His lips swept down her cheeks and stroked Lysia’s lips.

“Stop it.”

Lysia pushed his face away with her hands. She did not struggle to resist. Because it was only going to be a waste of energy.

“Be kinder, Lysia.”

Lawrence whispered sweetly.

“You like duty. Don’t you?”

“…… What do you want to say?”

“Do your duty. You are obliged by God to turn me with your love.”

“…… I am no longer a saint. Ack!”

As the words fell, Lawrence grabbed her by the hair and yanked back head.

Then he bit her lip until it bled.

The taste of blood flowed between her lips. Lawrence kissed her indulgently and shoved the tip of her tongue into the scar.

Lysia frowned. She didn’t even want to show him that it hurts.

She wanted to show him that she felt nothing.

She had, in the past, tried to keep him in her love, but she felt nothing now. And she was now rejecting him from her own heart.

No joy, no pain.

She could no longer feel despair in Lawrence himself.

“It’s the wife’s duty to love her husband, even without divine command. Isn’t it?”

Lawrence said with a seductive smile.

“So you must love me.”

“Don’t blame me for your evilness.”

Lysia exhaled. She had married Lawrence out of her sense of duty, but despite those numerous duties and responsibilities, the romantic feelings she once felt for Lawrence did not originate there.

“Because of you, I first learned that people cannot change.”

Even so, Lawrence didn’t care.